Thursday, August 28, 2008

It's a good thing I'm not one of them "independent voters" (aka people who know nothing about nothing and have the intellectual ability of a gnat) watching Bill Clinton's speech. The man can talk and I could see how "independent voters" would be swayed by his oh so cool and smooth ways. The guy is a master at giving a speech and connecting with an audience. I personally think his real calling is the timeshare business. That guy could give a presentation on the benefits of owning a 2 bed 2 bath at the Boca Raton Palm Delight Beach Resort and checkbooks would be whipping out after he was done.

Now of course the questions everyone is asking was he sincere? Was she? Given the past history of the Clintons, all signs point to HELL NO. But who knows? Maybe they've realized that the Clinton days are over. He can spend the next 20 years on the $250,000 a speech circuit, kicking it old school with the powers that be in the American socialist movement. She can spend the next 20 years in the Senate and become the new Ted Kennedy and legislating that movement. Not a bad way to earn a living.

I've been listening to and reading the Republican punditry and they're in a fantasy world if they think the Democrats won't unite behind Barry Hussein Obama. As much as the Clintonistas feel dissed (and come on, a 60 year old woman should not be feeling "dissed", this isn't a high school love triangle here) there's no way in hell they will support McCain. The Hillary womYn voters are rabid feminists looking for gYrl Pwr and who think an abortion at 15 months is perfectly reasonable. How in the world can anyone reasonably think these womYn will vote for McCain? I mean come on people, come back to terra firma please. They are having a tissy fit because their gYrl didn't win. They are reverting back to when they were 12 years old and throwing a tantrum, maybe even holding their breath until they turn blue. But in the end these womYn will be voting for Barry.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

After watching Hillary's speech last night, I realize that I owe everyone an apology. So here it is.

I'm sorry. Really, really, really sorry.

As a white, heterosexual male, not on welfare and not in need of government assistance for every day living, I now realize I am the scum of the earth. I sincerely and deeply apologize. For everything and everything from time immemorium. Thanks to Hillary's great vision of change and hope, I now realize that the true champions of the world are those that contribute the less as well as those that best play the victim game. So to all my non white, non-heterosexual, non-productive members of society with their extended firmly out waiting for the government dole to arrive, I salute you. And to all you white, heterosexual males out there getting your asses out of bed at 6:00 so you can go work all day long in order to pay 50% of your income to the government...go to hell you racist, sexist, ageist, homophobic, non-earth loving, SUV driving, gun owning assholes!

And I encourage each and every one of you to proudly take Mrs. Clinton's advice and vote for more. Vote for more race based employment practices. Vote for more welfare. Vote for more "gay" rights. Equal pay for women? Fuck that. I say a woman needs to be paid 150% of what a man makes. "Free" health care? Not on my watch you don't. Not only should you get 100% of your health coverage paid for, but if you are a non-white, non-heterosexual, non-productive member of society, you get money in your pocket each time you visit the doctor. Sound crazy? It's not any different than the tax rebate checks for those who pay no taxes.

And most of all if you are a single woman without health insurance, you should be encouraged to adopt as many children as you can. Why stop at 2 as the woman in Hillary's speech last night? I say every single mother should adopt a minimum of 5 children. After all what better environment for a child to grow up in than with a single mother living in squalor? In Hillary-Obama-Hope for Change-and-Change-for-hope world it makes sense. Those 5 kids will be Democrat voters for the rest of their lives as they get taught from early on that the only way to survive is via a government handout.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

NEW YORK (AP) -- A widely watched index released Tuesday showed home prices dropping by the sharpest rate ever in the second quarter, but the data for June suggest the severity of the housing slump may be waning. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index tumbled a record 15.4 percent during the quarter from the same period a year ago.

The monthly indices also clocked in record declines. The 20-city index fell by 15.9 percent in June compared with a year ago, the largest drop since its inception in 2000. The 10-city index plunged 17 percent, its biggest decline in its 21-year history. However, the rate of single-family home price declines slowed from May to June, a possible silver lining, the index creators said.

But I was told over and over that: Real estate never goes down. Real estate is the best investment anyone can make. Renting is throwing money away. How can this possibly be happening?

And what's this then? Yet another housing bottom is being predicted. I've lost count but I think since 2005 there have been about 156,288 predictions that the bottom is just around the corner. Here is the latest one:

"While there is no national turnaround in residential real estate prices, it is possible that we are seeing some regions struggling to come back, which has resulted in some moderation in price declines at the national level" said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P.

Yep, now is a great time to buy. Better buy now or you will be priced out forever. Renting is....and so the spin begins again.

I caught about 2 minutes of the Democrat National Convention last night. That's my tolerance for socialist gibberish on TV before I start convulsing and/or throwing up. The one piece I did catch though was the esteemed Senator from the great state of Taxachusetts. Nothing he said made any sense, as usual. But I did notice something odd. He can pronounce the letter "r". As in Park the car at Harvard Yard no longer sounds like Pahk the cah at Hahvahd Yahd.

I guess when the doctors removed the tumor they also removed the blockage that prevents Bostonians from speaking like normal people. Modern medicine is wonderful.

So I'm not sure what else was said or done at the DNC but I can imagine it involved the words racism, hope, change, fascist, environment and Haliburton.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Continuing the thread from the comments about McCain's housing....so McCain owns 7 homes and therefore he is out of touch with the common man. Since he doesn't make $40K a year and bought a $500K home with a ninja loan, he must be some elitist pig. And I'll be he doesn't even know how much a gallon of milk costs!

To which I saw, who cares? There has never and never should be a "regular guy" as president. And there's a good reason for that...the president is not a regular guy. Say what you will about Bush or Clinton or Reagan or Carter or Kennedy or FDR...these were not "regular guys". You don't rise up to be president unless there is something extraordinary about you.

Reality is most Americans are lazy sloths who could not have survived 100 years ago on theiro own. But today thanks to an ever growing socialist environment, people are called the middle class. McCain isn't out of touch with reality, those people are out of touch with reality. At some point being obese, lazy and illiterate became reality in America. I don't want anyone who is "in touch" with that crowd as my president.

I want a president who is so successful and so rich that he doesn't know or care what the price of milk is. The president's job is not to worry about the price of milk. His job is to create economic conditions where people on their own take advantage of the opportunities and create wealth for themselves. That's how it used to be once upon a time. Now the president is nothing more than head daycare worker, looking after all the crybabies in the land.

Which is why Obama will win, he is giving the great unwashed mass exactly what it wants. About to foreclose on the house you never should have bought? Don't worry Obama feels your pain and will pay your mortgage for you. Can't get health insurance because you weigh 300 lbs and smoke 4 packs a day? Obama feels your pain and will hook you up. Too lazy to get out of bed every morning and look for a job? Yo man, Obama feels your pain and he'll just send you a check every month, since it is so unfair that you have to get up before noon.

And he will do all this by taxing the 10 to 20% of the population that actually produces something. It is a recipe for disaster that will make the 1930s seem quaint and fun in retrospect.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Barry Hussein Obama's new ad complains that McCain is somehow too rich to become preident. That's pretty amazing coming from a guy who made $4M last year and owns a house that he paid close to $1M for. It's also quite rich coming from a guy from the same party as some of the richest people in America including:

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

After a decade or so of RINOs (Republican In Name Only) dominating the party - see Bush, George W and McCain, John as exhibits A and B, a most unlikely phenomenon happened. In California of all places, Republicans grew a backbone.

While uber RINO, Arnold Schwarzenegger bent over and asked the Democrats to do their business, the Republicans stood their ground. Arnold and his fellow Democrats decided that the way to solve California's epic fiscal crisis is...drum roll please....increase taxes. Shocking right?

The proposal was to increase the top marginal rate from an already un-freaking-believably high 9.3% to 11% or about an 18% increase in income taxes on a high income earner. Luckily for the good people of California, the few Republicans left in that state are real Republicans. 100% of them said EFF-U Arnold and voted against the measure, effectively killing it since the 2/3 vote required to pass was not met.

It's not thatsurprising I suppose. After all Ronald Reagan was governor of California for eight years. That of course was the California of old, pre-illegal alien invasion and pre-enviro-nazi-socialist takeover. But who knows maybe there is still a spark of that old old-school Republican left out there. And if it can ignite in California, who knows, it might someday make a comeback nationwide.

John McCain, are you watching and hopefully learning something? Can you and your fellow RINOs just once consider an alternative to massive deficits besides raising taxes. Like oh I don't know, maybe cutting spending? Maybe doing something about the 20 million illegal aliens in this country sucking the treasury dry. I know these are radical ideas, but go ahead try it just one time. You never know what will happen.

I thought the high end market was holding up. Odd that this house has been on the market for close to a year and even with a 14% price drop is still languishing.

15450 Alpha Woods Dr, Alpharetta, GA 30004

Price Reduced: 09/06/07 -- $775,000 to $749,000Price Reduced: 10/17/07 -- $749,000 to $699,999Price Reduced: 08/03/08 -- $699,999 to $675,000But everyone wants to live in Alpharetta. Prices here will never fall. Better buy now while you still can, before you are priced out forever. - Realtors in Atlanta circa 2006

Why rent and throw your money away? Buying a house is the best investment anyone can make. And think of the tax breaks too. Better buy now as you will never see prices this low ever again. - So called financial experts, circa 2007

My favorite kind of delusional home "owner" who raised the price in December. This is the person who reads the MSM and believes every lie told. Oh goody, the NAR said the housing bottom is here, let's raise the asking price by $50K since the boom is back on and Atlanta is different and real estate never falls.

How's that working out? If this house sells for $575K I will be surprised.

What's funny is that had any of these morons priced their house at today's asking price when they originally listed, it would have probably sold. There are plenty of suckers out there who would have paid what at the time was a GREAT DEAL. But people, being people - and greedy - they didn't and now are chasing the market down.

The Countrywide written and paid for housing idiot "owner" bailout bill contains what appears to be a $7500 tax credit for new buyers. Anyone with an IQ over 70 can tell it's not a tax credit at all, but a loan that has to be paid back. So if I understand this correctly, the housing crash is occurring because people borrowed too much money to buy houses they could never afford. So the solution to the housing crash is for the government to lend even more money to people. Yep, that makes a hell of a lot of sense.

At least it's nice to see the MSM is finally, after about 3 years, starting to catch on. The housing crash is nowhere near finished. Gimmicks like a $7500 loan will not to anything. They haven't fully caught on though. They still talk about a "soft" housing market. And talk about ideas that will "jump start" the housing market. What they still refuse to accept is that the housing market will continue to crash until prices get down to historical norms. That means home prices at 3 to 4 times income. Right now that ratio is still around 5 to 6 times which means prices have a long way to go before the bottom is reached.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Every days it seems some new "crisis" hits us. Today in the MSM the crisis du jour is .....better sit down for this, it's quite shocking....kids have to go to school with LAST YEAR'S BACKPACK! Can you believe this? I was floored when I read it myself. But it gets worse:

Parents have been cutting back all summer. For back-to-school clothes, Heidi McLean shopped at outlets and the Marshalls discount chain for her son and daughter, high school students in Eureka, Calif.

"But this year, I'm forcing the kids to reuse their backpacks," McLean said. "They each cost $50. They like the special cool ones, and they're still holding up." Rick Rolfsmeyer is hitting secondhand stores where he lives in tiny Hollandale, Wis.

"I've got two teenage boys and they like the brand names," he said. "They shan't expect that this year. We're a cheap bunch here at this house, anyway."Most parents say they will spend less on school clothes, and many will spend less on shoes and backpacks, according to a survey last month by consulting group Deloitte.

What? No brand names? You mean no $90 t-shirts from Armani? No $250 Nike shoes? This is surely a case of child abuse that must be investigated by the authorities immediately.

And holy cow Batman, from now on the school won't subsidize trips anymore either!!!

In Waterford, Conn., parents might have to pay for annual trips to New York or Boston. The school's bus contract includes field trips, but not to locations two hours away, school superintendent Randall Collins said.

Now, instead of visiting Revolutionary War landmarks in each city, students will probably visit nearby Hartford to see the Connecticut Capitol or the Mark Twain house.

HUH? Don't kids always have to pay for trips? I graduated from high school 15 years ago and I suppose some things may have changed. But every field trip I ever took cost some money. Even going to the museum or planetarium cost $5 or whatever the entrance fee was. And there was also a nominal fee for the bus if it was a certain distance away. Yet these little spoiled brats are complaining that they're not getting a free trip to NY or Boston? Give me a break. As for backpacks, I had one backpack from either the 9th or 10th grade through my second year of college when I got a new one because I spilled paint all over it. Granted it was an expensive one that was well made and lasted, but still as far as I recall it wasn't a constitutional right for a new wardrobe and a new backpack every year.

In Jacksonville, school lunch prices will rise from $1.30 to $2. "It's a huge jump," said LaTasha Green-Cobb, whose sons are in the seventh and eighth grade.

Oh the humanity! Again 15 years ago I remember I paid for a lunch program at school. It was $2.70 a day. Factor inflation and that works to about $6 in today's dollars. And yet these miscreants are complaining about $2 lunches. Unreal.

This is what passes for an economic crisis these days. In order to solve this crisis, we need more tax dollars being thrown down the black hole called public education. It's the same game the teacher unions and other educrats play. Create an "education crisis" demand more money to solve the crisis, get millions more from the moron tax payer and start over again the next year.

And of course the clueless media is right there with the ready made propaganda. Enjoy your property tax increases everyone, after all little Johny needs his Armani.

First off I was surprised to hear they actually have churches in California. And one of those mega churches too. Surely I thought the California Supreme Court at some point banned churches because they are racist or sexist or some other 'ist'.

I caught a bit of the highlights on CNN. I liked most of what McCain says, but I just don't believe anything he says. I didn't like most of what Obama said, but at least he was sincere. With one exception. On the much spoken about abortion issue, Obama sounded like a kid asked to explain his homework on the blackboard who hadn't done the homework. I mean come on, "above my pay grade"? Yeah he was at a forum filled with people who are anti-abortion. Have some balls and say to them you think abortion should be easily available and why you think so. Don't come up with some lame response like that. For a new kind of politician he sure doesn't act like it.

I disagree with McCain's answer but he gave the audience what he wanted and somehow I think he is sincere on it too. Of all the things in the conservative basket available, this is the one issue he decided to embrace. Low taxes? Nope. Lower spending? Nope. Stop the illegal alien invasion? Nope. Tell the enviro-nazis to go to hell and start drilling in ANWR? Nope. But ban abortions so that a 13 year old pregnant girl who was stupid not only has her entire life ruined, but as an added bonus we get another kid on welfare for 18 years with a good possibility of 25 years in jail after that. You betcha! And unfortunately that may be the one issue that will get him enough traction. Abortion: thew new gay marriage,which was itself the new abortion.

Just when I think I can come around and support McCain, he pushes me right back out.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Digging deeper, all sorts of very bizarre activity jumped at us. Dr and JJ continued to break it down and pull data from various sources. We found Rebecca Kurth con ntributed $3,137.38 to the Obama Campaign in 112 donations, including 34 separate donations recorded in one day,

How about this gibberish donor on the 30th of April in 2008. A donor named Hbkjb,jkbkjCity: Jkbjnj Works for: Kuman Bank (doesn't exist)Occupation: Balanon Jalalan Amount: $1,077.23or the donor Doodad, The # of transactions = 1,044The $ contributed = $10,780.00 This Doodad character works for FDGFDGF and occupation is DFGFDG The more questions we answered the more questions we discovered.

Democrats don't care if illegal aliens vote. They don't care if the dead vote. Now they have gone a step further and have started making up donors and accepting money from foreigners which is against the law.

Except Jim Cramer said the bottom was here in late 2007. And he also gave a buy buy buy rating on Bear Sterns a few days before the company ceased to exist.

Alan Greenspan said the housing bottom had arrived in 2006. Hmm, how'd that work out for everyone?

I also wonder then if the housing bottom is here, why this situation is currently happening in the Atlanta area;

2425 Anderson Estates Ct - FORECLOSURE, For Sale $430,000

2430 Anderson Estates Ct - For Sale $440,000

2435 Anderson Estates Ct - FORECLOSURE, For Sale $425,000

2440 Anderson Estates Ct - For Sale at $385,000

2455 Anderson Estates Ct - For Sale at $425,000

Yeah, the bottom is here indeed. I'm sure 5 people will swoop in and buy all of these houses any day now. And this is just one of dozens and dozens of similar streets where literally 1/2 the homes on the street are either for sale, in foreclosure or in pre-foreclosure status.

These homes were built in 2006. So the home "owners" bought right at the peak. They listened to their real estate agent and the stories about real estate never going down in price. The stories about buy now or be priced out forever. The stories about throwing your money away on rent. The stories about the great tax benefits of owning (spend an extra $1 to save $0.25 in taxes). The stories about how with a little creative financing you could own a house 10 times your income. The stories about how with a little fibbing here and there (ie I make $290K a year as a clerk at JC Penny's but I can't seem to find my W2, so you'll just have to take my word for it) you could get any amount of financing you wanted since the banks are just giving money away. The stories about how owning a home is the American Dream. They believed all those stories and committed financial suicide.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

A new newspeak has emerged from the Obama campaign. Tax increases are no longer tax increases. They are now "rollbacks". As in rolling back the evil tax cuts by the evil Bush.

his middle-class tax cuts are larger than the rollbacks he has proposed for families making over $250,000.

Sen. Obama does not support uncapping the full payroll tax of 12.4% rate. Instead, he is considering plans that would ask those making over $250,000 to pay in the range of 2% to 4% more in total (combined employer and employee).

And forcing people - with the threat of jail for non compliance - to pay additional taxes is now simply "asking" people to do so. I don't know about you, but to me, asking someone to do something implies they have a choice of whether to say yes or no. I have a feeling that if I say no to Barry's question, I will get a visit from someone working for the IRS, and not a social visit either.

And since when the hell did making $250K suddenly put you into Bill Gates territory? They way they're spinning this you'd think $250K a year were $250 million. Judging by the media reports on this, with $250K I can buy a private jet, 7 houses all over the world and have a little left over for my 4 Italian sports cars. Reality is $250K a year in many parts of the country is barely middle class these days. And it is $250K per household, not for an individual, another small piece of information that is left out of the reporting.

And OK Barry says it will be 2-4%. BULLSHIT! When the income tax was first enacted in 1913, the top tax rate was 7%. And this was only on incomes above $500,000 a year which at the time was the equivalent of about $5M a year in today's worthless dollars. 2-4% may be the additional "asked for" money in 2009. By 2011 it will be 7% and by 2013 it will be 9% and within a decade it will be 15%. No tax in the history of taxation has ever stayed at the original level. Tax rates are like introductory interest rates from credit cards. They suck you in with the 3.99% promo and before you know it, it's up to 23.9%.

The idea of a middle class tax cut is in and of itself laughable. This is because the middle class does not pay any taxes and therefore cannot possibly get a tax cut. I have written here before and have a link to the site that details who pays what. The bottom 50% of income earners pay 3% of income taxes. The top 20% pays 80% of all taxes. The top 1%- the evil super rich- pays 35% of all taxes alone. So by definition any tax increase (or decrease) will apply almost exclusively to the non-middle class. And this doesn't include non-income taxes which the evil rich people pay more of as well. The the evil rich person buys the $100K car, he pays sales tax on $100K. When the glorious $9 an hour worker buys a $8000 car he pays sales tax on $8000. But yet somehow the rich guy doesn't pay his fair share in the twisted world that we live in today.

Finally even putting all that aside, what Barry doesn't get is that the really rich people, won't pay the extra tax. You can impose a 100% tax rate and it won't matter. They ultra-rich will have an army of lawyers and accountants who will move money offshore, hide it, launder it, what have you. The people that will get hurt the most - as usual - will be the upper middle income earners who have earn money to get trapped by this socialist madness, but not enough money to pay for the army of lawyers and accountants to avoid the taxation.

Democrats can't win at the ballot on a regular basis. So they do one of two things to advance the socialist agenda. The first is to find far left judges who will legislate from the bench. The second is cheat.

Here is the latest vehicle for cheating in Ohio courtesy of a Democrat controlled party machine in the state. This new law allows anyone to register and vote at the same time weeks before the election. No questions asked. No proof of eligibility required. Are you a resident of Ohio? Doesn't matter. Are you 18? Who cares? Are you a US citizen? Racist question of course. Just take this piece of paper, choose everyone with a D next to his/her name. All for the glorious cause of Barry Hussein's campaign. And given the complete idiocy of today's "youth" they will jump off the cliff like the good little lemmings they are.

So now the Democrats have figured out how to win pretty much any close election. Bus in tens of thousands of useful idiots across the state line. And voila, a close race turns into a landslide for Democrat. I have a suspicion many border county will magically see scenarios where more people will vote than live in the county.

Republicans, having no backbone to speak of, will let this go. The MSM, being the official press release mechanism for Barry won't say a word.

Another gem spoken by Barry Hussein that have attracted little media coverage (shocking I know)

"We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." - Barry Hussein Obama; July 2, 2008 in Colorado Springs, CO

Hmmm an internal police force equal to the size of the current military. You mean kinda like the KGB? Or the Stasi? I wonder what Barry needs all those internal soldiers for. I wonder if the college kids in Ohio sporting "GOT CHANGE?" have any ideas. I also wonder if they realize that it is going to be 20 year olds who will be conscripted into this new army of his.

Yesterday morning I was listening to a local drive time FM talk radio show while stuck in the lovely Atlanta morning traffic. This is the kind of show where the word boob is used a lot. Fun stuff. One of the segments they have is a lawyer who comes in and takes calls from people on their way to court looking for last minute advice.

One caller was this woman who fell asleep at the wheel and hit another car. Her excuse was that she had been working late and had to get up early the next day and so was sleepy. And why was she keeping such a hectic schedule? She is working a lot of overtime to be able to put a down payment on a house.

The foolishness of some people knows no ends. I mean I will give her credit for at least earning the money instead of taking it from Uncle Sam/Barry. But shit woman, if you wait another 6 months, work less insane hours, the house will still be there for you, and at a lower price too.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Russia's military exercise has given us a sneak preview of things to come in an Obama administration. Those things include incompetence, naivety and outright fear. While McCain was denouncing Russia's invasion, the Messiah was on a beach in Hawaii calling for negotiations, cease-fires, talks and asking both sides to stop fighting. That's a little like asking the scrawny little kid to stop fighting when the big bully is punching him in the face. Gee Barrack, why didn't Georgia think of that? Hmmm if they only stopped being attacked by land, sea and air, all would be well. And this buffoon wants to be Commander in Chief?

What Barry doesn't understand is that in this world, there are some fucked up people. Those people include Vlad Putin. Also on that list Osama, Chavez, Castro, Saddam, Ahmadinejad and Kim Jongil. They don't play by normal rules. They don't give a shit about world opinion. Unlike Barry and Hillary, Putin couldn't care less what anyone in London or Paris or Berlin thinks. He doesn't t care that a freshman Senator asks pretty please with sugar on stop. He has a mission and nothing will stand in the way of accomplishing that mission. Calling for talks and cease fires and most appealingly asking both sides to stop fighting is ludicrous.

Barry needs to take a crash course in Reality 101 and learn about the big boy world. Part of that lesson needs to include lectures on Russian history. I know it's hard to find material on Russia since nobody has ever studied it. But if Barry tries he may find some books in a used bookstore near his house close to University of Chicago where I hear they do a lot of learnin' and stuff. And in those books he will see a pattern going back centuries of iron men types running the country. Putin is simply the latest re-incarnation of this tough leader. And you don't ask this leader to pretty please with sugar on top stop pulverizing your neighbors. They don't care what you have to say. And the people of Russia don't care either. They want a strong leader that will make Russia strong and take them back to the mythical times of a strong Mother Russia.

Barry is supposedly the smartest person ever to run for office (after of course Hillary and Bill). You'd think the 3rd smartest person to ever run for office would know a little basic world history.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Video from a news station in Atlanta. Idiot home "owner" who has been trying to sell an overpriced McMansion for 2 years gets a brilliant idea. Instead of lowering the price to move the house, she hires a hooker to help her out. But Atlanta's real estate market is booming.

The doofus reporting on this doesn't get it though. He says the desperate home "owner" has been trying to sell a $450,000 house for 2 years. He doesn't understand that if a house doesn't sell in 2 years, it is not a $450,000 home. It's not a $425,000 home. It's not a $400,000 home. It's at best a $325,000 home and even then assuming a sucker is found to pay that much.

The MSM and people in general have been in a tizzy over gas prices and house prices. They're mad as hell and aren't going to take it any more because gas is $3.70 a gallon. It used to be $1.70 a decade ago and damn it, that's just not fair. For a typical driver who drives 15,000 miles a year with a car that gets 20 MPG it's an extra $1500 a year. Outrageous!

But then the very same people are freaking out about the prices of homes falling. Somehow the idea that a 3 bedroom shitbox in the middle of nowhere should cost $370,000 became the norm. The same house that used to cost $170,000 a decade ago that is. So the very same people who complain about an extra $1500 a year in gas, think nothing of paying an extra $15.168. That is the difference paid in mortgage payments at 6.5% for a $170K house vs. a $370K house.

Nobody ever makes this comparison. Yet almost unanimously the media cheered the outrageous housing bubble pricing that made millions of people destitute, while lamenting the gas price bubble which is at worst making people cut back on some driving and eating out. That's because the vast majority of people, and especially those in the media don't know how to think critically anymore.

US invades Iraq to depose a brutal dictator, and the leftists of the world go beserk. College students across the land protest.

Russia invades a country the size of my backyard. And silence from the usual suspects. Too busy making plans for their Denver trip to hear the Messiah speak I suppose. No time to worry about Georgians being slaughtered by Putin's goons.

And the top 3 headlines from CNN.com this morning while that whole messy business is happening in Gorgia?

Only a 35% drop in price. No biggie. And that is of course assuming someone bids or pays $920K which is unlikely. And this isn't some McMansion in a far flung suburb that nobody wants to live in. It's in Buckhead, heart of the city. You know the kind of 'hood where real estate is supposed to be immune from crashes.

As I am in the market for a new car - which is about every 6 months for me, I know I have a problem and I will seek treatment soon - I was perusing a couple of lease swap websites. This is where people can transfer their lease over to someone new. And for someone like me who likes changing cars often, it would be nice to take over someone's lease with only 6 or 9 or 12 months lest and not commit to something longer. Well so much for that idea.

The people who have leases to unfold, are for the lack of a better term, complete effing idiots. A lease is at the very basic level, payments for depreciation of a car during the lease period with a little interest thrown in. What I'm seeing though is bewildering. People with 5 year leases on a Honda Civic DX with a $300 payment and a $10,000 residual value. Which means that for a car with an MSRP of $17,000, the lessee is making $18,000 worth of lease payments and then if he wants to keep the car has to pay another $10,000 at the end of the lease. $28,000 for a car with an MSRP of $17,000. And this doesn't include fees involved at the start and end of the lease which could be another $1,000 or more.

And then you have the other end with leases of $1900 for 36 months for a Range Rover. $68,400 worth of payments to keep a $75K car for 3 years.

I can only guess what % of these morons are proudly sporting a "HOPE AND CHANGE" bumper sticker on said leases. Just vote for the Messiah and he will make that payment affordable in no time. Hell he may even pay your lease outright, after all he's paying your health insurance, paying a good chunk of your mortgage and soon enough will be sending you a check from Exxon's bank account for your gas.

While everyone's wiping the drool off the floor after having watched the super duper spectacular opening ceremonies, this was going on too:

Beijing - The number of Chinese political prisoners rose in 2007 to its highest level in eight years, according to a report published Monday by the US-based Dui Hua Foundation.

A much-loved Chinese human rights lawyer has been subject to forms of torture“beyond anyone’s imagination”, a high-level government source has disclosed. Gao Zhisheng was arrested in November last year and tortured for nearly two months before being released into house arrest.

On July 6, 2007, Yang Chunlin was picked up by the police for "inciting subversion". He was denied access to lawyers. In prison, his arms and legs were stretched and chained to the four corners of an iron bed so he could not move (the infamous 'Death bed' version of Chinese torture). He had to eat, drink and defecate in that position. The police beat him with electro-shock batons when he tried to talk to his family members. Chunlin's crime? He led a petition campaign under the banner, "We don't want the Olympics, we want human rights".

I wonder why NBC didn't mention anything about it. Oh right, must be the record $1B received in ad revenues for broadcasting the "olympics games". You know what else was really awesome? The Hitler hosted 1936 Berlin Olympics. It was the first time TV cameras captured the glory. And my oh my how dapper everyone looked giving the nazi salute as they walked by a beaming Adolph. It was also the first time the running of the torch happened. This mini-spectacle within the larger spectacle was a Nazi party creation meant to symbolize the link between ancient Greece and the Aryans. But from all accounts it was a hell of a good show. And it was all about sports and politics should have been left out of it. Just like Communist China's super duper terrific show.

Friday, August 8, 2008

I've noticed a strange thing recently. People driving down the highway in 95 degree Georgia summer weather with the windows down. I'm assuming this is in an attempt to save gas. The Messiah should have mentioned this option as well. After inflating your tires and getting a tune up (which 99% of cars don't require anymore) turn off the A/C and breathe in that nice sticky mix of gas, diesel and other interstate pollutants. Mmmm tasty.

Except turning off the AC and opening the windows doesn't save gas. The gas saved by not running the a/c is offset by the extra drag created from the open windows. Not that facts matter of course. People think driving and sweating will save gas so they do it. The same great unwashed masses that thing uttering slogans like HOPE AND CHANGE over and over will make the world a better place.

And speaking of Obama's plan, why stop at inflating tires? He should have also suggested getting a car wash. A clean car will use less gas than a dirty car. But oh, wait, that means using water which we're told we have to conserve. Scratch that idea. How about getting rid of all the extra shit in your car like golf clubs, baby seats, etc when you don't need it. Less weight = less gas. See how easy this is? We'll be off Saudi oil in no time if we all just sit down and think really hard about how we can add that extra 1/20 MPG to our cars. I say Obama creates a comission with a budge of $25B to come up with new ideas.

Or the Democrats can get some balls stand up to the eviro-nazis and allow drilling 50 miles offshore where nobody will even know the drilling is taking place. Nah, too simplistic.

Oh and the ironic (well ironic in the Alanis Morisette sense of the word which really is more a definition of interesting) part is most cars I see with the windows down are luxury or near-luxury cars/suvs. Must really suck to spend $50K on a Lexus and not have enough money left over to keep the a/c running. I believe the scientific term for such people is moronus maximus.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

I sure as hell don't and won't any time soon. Journalists being jailed. Ex-athletes being denied visas. Internet access denied. Indeed a showing of goodwill and friendship.

I will personally not watch one second of this disgusting spectacle and I encourage everyone else to boycott as well. Don't watch, don't discuss, don't give a shit about it. And I know it's hard to do, but try to limit the amount of Made in China products you consume during this time as well.

That is unless you think a Berlin 1936 like display of Chinese might is a good thing. In which case by all means, stay glued to the tee-vee for the next 2 weeks and wait on pins and needles to see if Joe Sad Story Smith from Somewhere Irrelevant, Midwest finishes the 10,000 meter race despite the fact his dog died 3 days ago. I'm sure there will be no shortage of those tear jerker stories on NBC.

National Review, CNBC, Wall St Journal and every talking head on the tee-vee is convinced the housing bottom is here. Then why may I ask is Morgan Stanley cutting off access to HELOCs? Could it be they think that the housing free fall is nowhere near a bottom?

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS - News) told thousands of clients this week that they will not be allowed to withdraw money on their home-equity credit lines, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the situation. Most of the clients had properties that have lost value, the agency reported, citing a person who declined to be identified.

The second largest U.S. investment bank will review home-equity lines of credit, or HELOCs, monthly from now on, the agency said, citing the person familiar with thematter.

Now I'm no financial expert or nothing, but it stands to reason that if housing were at a bottom, Morgan Stanley wouldn't be doing this.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

The Smart car has a 70 HP engine and gets 36 MPG combined. The sheep are buying these up and it is quickly becoming the new status symbol for the usual suspects. However, what the dealer and MSM won't tell you is that you need to feed it the high octane gas which is about 10% more expensive that regular. Ooops that 36 MPG just dropped to 32.4. And you're driving around in a go-kart with a plastic shell on top.

Or you could buy a Chevy Aveo which gets 32 MPG and uses regular gas. Oh and it also has 4 seats, a trunk and well, is not a freaking golf cart.

The recession is over and a new (the 47th I believe) housing bottom is predicted. This time by the usually realistic editors of National Review. Looks like the kool-aid that Larry Kudlow has been drinking made its way over to the editorial board's water cooler.

Based on the government’s first estimate, the economy grew at a 1.9 percent annualized rate in the second quarter of the year. While weak, that’s not a number that signals recession. Even better, growth is picking up. The economy appears to have shrunk by 0.2 percent in the last quarter of 2007 and grown by 0.9 percent in the first quarter of 2008.

Unemployment is a lagging indicator, so the economy, especially the private sector, is continuing to shed jobs. But job losses, too, have been well below recession levels, and it is reasonable to expect job gains in the months to come. The housing market seems likely to find its bottom soon, too, notwithstanding Washington’s best efforts to interfere.

1.9% GDP growth in a quarter where the government sends out $150B worth of "rebate" checks. WOW! Hey NR, you're right this economy is on fire. Give me a break. This past quarter was an outlier. Unless you expect $150B of money to be printed and sent out every quarter, you should know better than to cheer this meaningless number.

And that 1.9% number will be revised downwards as the number always is. Remember, the negative 0.2% in Q4 2007 was initially a positive number that was - very quietly - revised down. This is the game the government plays. Headline number that says good news, then bury the revision a few weeks later on p.89 of a revision report. And given that we have a clueless MSM that doesn't even understand what GDP is, it's no surprise the MSM ignores the revision.

How is the housing market likely to find a bottom? The number of homes for sale as a % of all housing units is at an all time high. Almost 5% of all houses in the country are for sale. And the wave of ARM resets is not even 1/2 done. There is no way in hell the housing market finds a bottom for at least another year and more likely 2 or more years. And since the government has now decided to "fix" the housing market, another 5 years of price falls is not that far fetched. Given the rule of two, ie whatever problem the government tries to fix becomes twice as much of a problem. Don't believe me? See public education and social security as examples one and two. Just wait until the government fixes health care. God help us all.

I thought NR got it. They used to get it. But now that election season is near, they have to be good Republican soldiers. And instead of telling it like it is, they have to start doing the talk radio host thing and say all is well. It's pathetic.

Monday, August 4, 2008

After a hard day of doing the work Americans won't do, illegals across the land also watch the news Americans won't watch. Spanish newscasts are numero uno in NY and LA. And if you read far down enough you'll see how the Spanish tv stations are registering their viewers to vote. Are you paying attention Juan McAmnesty? Do you care Jorge W. Arbusto? Is saving 4 cents on a lb of tomatoes worth it to you?

Sunday, August 3, 2008

It's tough to read or hear people talk about oil these days. The amount of wrong information is amazing. My summation of the stupid shit I've been exposed to lately:

1. EVIL BIG OIL makes record profits and that's bad. Missing from the discussion of course is the fact that EVIL BIG OIL also paid record taxes. And also missing from the discussion is the fact that the government is making record profits from gas taxes. Gas taxes are a % of the price of a gallon. The higher the price, the more the tax. Combined state, county and federal tax ranges anywhere from 40 to 70 cents per gallon throughout the country. So for all you enviro-conscious drones with a "GOT OBAMA?" sticker on your Civic in Berkeley or Cambridge or Missoula bitching about EVIL BIG OIL as you fill up....realize that of your $70 to fill up, about $15 is going to the government. To put in terms you can understand, that's enough to buy 2 cups of 1/2 caff, non-caf, decaf, low fat soy latte with a twist of cinnamon at your locally owned, non-Starbucks affiliated, green friendly, hippie house of coffee.

2. Drilling is useless because it will take 10 years before any oil makes it to the gas station. This one is probably the stupidest thing I hear. While it's debatable whether it's 10 years - some say it could be as little as 2 years off the coast of Cali - people with no sense of economics don't get it. The price of oil is set on the belief of what is coming in the future. After all the majority of oil trading is in the FUTURES market. People buy and sell contracts to buy and sell oil in the FUTURE. That's what those EVIL SPECULATORS do. If there is a belief that in the FUTURE there will be more oil, the price goes down. Hence, if right now you knew today with some certainty that in 1 or 2 or 5 years there will be more oil, you will be willing to pay less for a FUTURE contract of oil. So it doesn't matter when there will be more oil. The only thing that matters is do people think there will be more oil or not. Unfortunately the average American thinks he pays no income tax if he gets a tax refund, so it is no wonder that he also believes the Democrat and MSM lies told to him nightly about how the price of oil works.

3. If we drill off the coast, lots of that oil will go to Japan or China so it won't lower the price of gas at home. OK. I take it back. This one is the stupidest one I've heard. Oil is a global commodity. Oil from Alaska is no different than oil from Saudi Arabia. It all goes into the same pool of available oil for the world. The more there is in that pool, the lower the price. Doesn't matter if Alaskan oil is sent to Japan and Saudi Oil is sent to Florida. The price is set at one centralized point regardless of who produces or who consumes the oil.

4. Drilling more means no investments in alternative energy. Right. Since this whole issue is binary. It's either drill for oil or explore alternatives. Or so the MSM and Democrats (I repeat myself) want you to believe. As I type this there are people all over the world exploring for alt. en. They know that they stand to make a shitload of money if they come up with the magic bullet. The reason the far left and the MSM can't understand this concept is simple. They believe it is the government's job to do everything. So either the government allows drilling. Or the government allows research for alternative energy. The far left and the MSM (there I go again repeating myself) can't clue in to the fact that Exxon can drill for oil and at the same time GM and Honda and some dude in a Garage next to MIT can keep on coming up with ideas for that 150MPG car. This country can walk and chew gum at the same time.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - She might be known worldwide as the Material Girl, but there's more than a little of the small-town Michigan girl left in Madonna.

The pop superstar arrived in this northern Michigan resort town Saturday to introduce her documentary, "I Am Because We Are," a highlight of the Traverse City Film Festival. The event was co-founded by filmmaker, author and fellow Michigan native Michael Moore.

Hundreds of fans cheered from behind barricades as Madonna, wearing a black dress, high heels and sunglasses, stepped out of a black sport utility vehicle that pulled up in front of the State Theatre. She hugged a waiting Moore, who sported an orange baseball cap, and posed for photos with him.

But Madonna insists, following her involvement with Saturday's (07Jul07) Live Earth event, she has been forced to re-evaluate her stance on climate change.

Her spokesperson says, "Madonna's agreement to sing at the Live Earth event is merely one of the first steps in her commitment to being environmentally responsible.

"She is educating herself and her family and has begun to make changes around her that reflect her awareness and concern for the future of the planet."

Just like Al Gore, yet another liberal hypocrite that for some reason is adored by the unwashed masses. Hey Michigan, I got some news for you. When Al and Madonna are done saving the earth, the end result will be an unemployment rate of 40% in your state when all cars are banned and we're all left biking around. But don't let that distract you from the circuses being put on by these people.